Hello, My Brothers all:

Welcome to 2021, it is officially here. 2020 is in the record books, vaccinations have started and hopefully will turn the numbers in a direction that creates more and more negative tests. Guidelines continue to change as more becomes known about COVID-19. Keep up to date with the evolving guidelines for the good of all.

Your holidays might have been a bit different than what you enjoyed in the past, but hopefully you were able to “remember the reasons for the season,” taking time to reflect on that thought, and enjoy some time with family and friends.

As a reminder, in planning for Installation of Lodge Officers, remember that Directive 13 (Temps at the door, mask within 6 feet of another & social distancing) must be followed. There were also several additional recommendations from the Grand Master that were provided in an email from Grand Lodge dated 12/2/20. It was said that “we certainly do not want one of our Lodge Installations to be responsible for a Brother or family member to fall ill or worse, such as becoming a ‘Super Spreader’ event.” Bottom-line: It is the incoming Worshipful Master’s day. He is to take responsibility for and expand or limit attendance and conditions of both the Lodge Room and Dining Hall.

In the interest of ensuring good health for our members we ended the 2020 year on a positive note despite having to cancel our Holiday Festivities. We will start 2021 with a meeting on the 4th Friday of the month, which is the 22nd of January. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. and we will have a short tyled meeting at 7:30 p.m. to share a “State of the Valley,” after which we will open the meeting to guests and visitors for the Graduation Ceremony honoring those who completed the 3-year College of the Consistory education program in November 2020. Please make every effort to attend, I am confident that your attendance would be appreciated by our Graduates.

We will make every effort to return to a more normal year in 2021, with monthly meetings and a Spring and Fall reunion unless we are told otherwise. However, as was the case in 2020, you be the judge of whether you can safely attend these meetings events. Please mark your calendar for the 4th Friday the of July as we are planning an elaborate Patriotic event on the 23rd of July where we will have an exciting Patriotism event with a celebration in honor of our U.S. flag and all it stands for. A special musical show will be scheduled to cap off the evening.

We had a successful election and installation of officers for the Valley, which includes the four bodies. However, we still have a few officer positions open and encourage any brother who desires to fill a position, within one of the bodies, to please contact Ill. Keith our Valley Secretary at 407-657-4550 and let him know you are interested. He is anxiously awaiting your call.

We will continue taking advantage of technology and regularly utilizing Zoom for Executive Committee meetings and our Master Craftsman study group, as appropriate. If you are interested in participating in this monthly study group, please contact Ill. Keith at the Valley office via GenSecOrl@gmail.com or 407-657-4550. He will ensure you are added to the mailing list and will receive all invites.

Please take a moment and read the article “A Poor Craftsman Blames his Tools” which was written by Ill. Bro. Arturo De Hoyos, 33°, GC, and originally appeared in the May/June ’18 Journal. It is short but it contains a solid message.

One last reminder. The Grand Commander extended the courtesy of providing your dues card with your dues notice, fully expecting that you would make this payment without additional notice. This is just a reminder that if you have not paid your 2021 dues please do so. It would be greatly appreciated as this is the largest source of income for our Valley.

Until next time, remember the many things for which you are thankful!  Be safe in your travels; “whisper wise counsel in the ear of an erring brother;” and respect the dignity of all, as it makes you and our fraternity stronger one action at a time.  We want to ensure that what we are enjoying today will be reliable for those who will follow. Simply stated – “We lead the way today, so those who follow us can lead the way tomorrow!”  Thanks for your continued support and participation, and may the “Spirit of Fraternity” reign supreme within our “Valley of Orlando!”

Fraternally,

Ill. Chester A. “Chet” King, 33°
Personal Representative

“People forget what you say, and forget what you do, but forever remember how you make them feel!”